Among the many things that Drama teachers have become more aware of while remote teaching, is the wonderful world of technical theatre and theatre design. Being on the visual end of the art form we love, it can be vital to the success of the overall performance; and it has been a valid approach for students while working home alone.
Now we have developed some work, it is time to turn our attention to the business of theatre. We've all done the posters – and I'm not knocking a good poster task – but there's a lot more to it than that. As theatre starts to pull itself out of the doldrums, areas such as marketing and programming are potentially the next things to tackle. Think of the time you'll save by being able to delegate some of that work for the school show, and maybe support some of your students into a career in the arts.
A broad view of the industry
There are already elements of vocational courses and knowledge-based sections of the current qualifications that require students to have some understanding of theatre vocabulary. This includes knowing the roles of all those who work in the theatre and what they do, with a lot of the questions geared towards the audience experience. These elements are useful to all students as potential audience members – knowing how a ticketing system works, or the importance of catering to a theatre's revenue, is going to help them see performing arts venues as somewhere they can visit and maybe volunteer for.
So, what are we talking about?
I'm really talking about anything that comes under the umbrella of arts administration and front of house. Specifically, the areas are
- Marketing – what do you sell and how do you create a good marketing plan?
- Programming and ticket sales – how do you know what to put on when, and how do you know if you've made the right decision?
- Peripheral support, such as catering – have you booked your interval drinks?How can you work in a performing arts venue right now?
- Recruitment, pay, conditions and funding – how does an actor get a job and what's it like day to day? What do all those logos in the programme really mean?
These are all important areas that are generally neglected in school Drama curricula, but they have the potential to enrich the student's experience of creating their own work. It is worth reminding them and their parents that the performing arts is a business.
© Adobe Stock/ JDWfoto
How to get into this with a class
A good way in to teaching these areas is to ask your local community arts centre for a set of old brochures; they will often have some left over – most centres have at least 2 seasons a year.
Start by asking the class in pairs to identify all the different activities that take place in the centre and to think about the logos of the funders. You can set up a programming card sort task easily; this is a chance to add to your cross-curricular links, as the students must work out how much they should spend and budget ticket prices to cover costs.
You might also be surprised how many marketing officers or front of house managers are willing to chat to young people about their job in a way that isn't possible for designers. For one thing, they're always there, on the premises, and generally speaking they don't get the interest that other areas of the theatre building do. Add in the fact that the work they do doesn't require high levels of risk assessment, and you can have an informative visit. The marketing department at my local Grade 1 touring theatre gave my students a terrific experience which included a tour of the theatre and a Q&A on how they marketed a show. They came away with fists full of posters, and an excellent understanding of the importance of marketing to the performing arts industry.
Use your local resources
You might find it worthwhile talking to your local arts centre about allowing your young people to programme and promote a show in their venue. I did this with a youth theatre group I worked with and it was a tremendous success. The group looked at the work that was on officer, made a selection and promoted and ran it themselves. With their commitment and energy, the show was a sell out and the venue learned a lot about how to market to their demographic. Two of the group are now working in arts marketing and administration.
Theatre and the performing arts are always full of possibilities for new learning experiences; why not try making a foray into ‘the business of show’ this year's new thing?
For information about a BTEC in Performing Arts Business visit this website.